i'm in agreement... the bells went off when this was entered on-the-record;

Thursday morning my doc came back in with a clipboard full of test
results — Brain clear, heart, aorta and brachial arteries clear, but carotid arteries showed mild plaque build-up...

He postulated that a tiny little bit of plaque had undoubtedly broken away and gone to my brain, which precipitated the stroke

i/we immediately know that smoking does not cause plaque build-up in the blood vessels... its all about diet>exercise>other pre-disposition
factors>
smoking may be on the list somewhere in the ~obscure~ zone.

lots of people have ill-diagnoised mini-strokes all the time,
yours was a high profile attack, it may be possible your highly sensitive & your body went into hyper drive response/stress/ & shutting down as a
protective measure
~ because if your incapacitated, you don't move much & the clot would not further wedge itself into a tight spot where all the blood flow was stopped
in a certain region of your brain causing even greater, permanent damage. good for you.

processed food, and too much of it, was more likely the cause of the plaque buildup, (not inhaling tobacco smoke)

I don't defend smoking cigarettes,but I do feel that smoking is being used as a scapegoat,to cover up the health effects of the pollution caused by
motor vehicles,and other commonly used items we are surrounded by .

It's just too easy to pick on something so obvious as someone who smells bad and has yellow teeth,being the bunch "of chickens pecking at one
another we are".

I have known people in my life who never smoked a cigarette,and were diagnosed with lung cancer,and died shortly after,why?.

I really don't think it is second hand smoke,or just smoking,since every day we are all exposed to all of the things that all kinds of motor vehicles
spew into our air.

But don't approach that,marginalize a dirty old guy/gal,walking around smoking tobacco instead.

I think approaching that subject would cost too much for the few who profit from petroleum use,and so on.

And the majority of you would have to admit that you are part of the problem.

I'm not going to talk about the health scares because if that was gonna work - none of you would be smoking.

Some statements I've heard from smokers (including myself!):

1. 'Smoking relaxes me' - Wrong - it causes the itch that you need to scratch which causes the itch.- Smoking a cigerette creates an endorphine rush
and when these endorphines are depleted - leave a hole, an empty feeling - a craving.You smoke to become NORMAL again - that cycle needs to be
broken.

2.'Smoking relieves boredom' -Really? How interesting are cigarettes? When you actually think about it...they're pretty damn unremarkable.
All that cigarette does is relieves the itch that the first and every cigarette you've ever smoked has caused - when you are 'bored' there's
nothing to distract you from the itch.

3.'I've smoked for years - its going to make it harder for me to stop'. - If you actually belive that, surely its only going to get harder the
longer you leave it?
If you have smoked for years the benifits and the sense of freedom you'll experience when you stop will be even greater!

4.'You have do die from something right? - It might aswell be from something I enjoy, anyway I could walk under a bus tommorow.' - Have you
witnessed a friend or relative diing from a smoking related disease?..Would you actually volunteer to walk under a bus?

5. 'I've heard its 'hard' to stop smoking!' Who's told you that?! You're smoking friends? - The ones that are also trying to justify why they
are still smoking? The NRT companies? - I guess they have sales targets they need to hit.

6. 'I heard that tobacco is more addictive than heroin' hmmmm - Nicotine does act FASTER and you become addicited QUICKER than if you were taking
heroin...but the facts are that you are never badly hooked. Compare a heroin addict and a nicotine addict going through withdrawal should disprove
that statement.

7. 'When I tried quitting in the past I became unbearable to live with - I shouted at my friends and family.'
I'm sure your friends and family will understand and would rather you be irritable for a few weeks than to die a potentially slow and painful
death...

8. 'I only smoke 10 a day' Why would you boast about how little you do something if you 'enjoy' it? - Think about that.

A few helpful points to help you succeed.

Giving up smoking is easy, but only if you have the right mind set...escape escape escape! - Take control of YOUR life.

NRT can be useful, I used it to take the edge off for the first week, purely because I was at work and needed to work closely with a team. I would
recommend picking a time where work and family commitments are at a 'normal' amount.

I quit smoking on a satuday - and went out drinking with my mates..I had a great time and proved once and for all I could enjoy myself without smoking
- infact, I enjoyed myself more since I didn;t have to break conversation to go outside to smoke, I also had more confidence because I didn't stink
of smoke.

Don't envy smokers -pity them - they are still trapped by myths,you are free.

Imagine yourself in a months time, the redness from your face is fading, broken veins are less visible, you can actually appreciate fabric softener
and enjoy meals....

Its the best thing you'll ever do for your body....its the only one you get!

Thanks for sharing this. Not sure why but I believe it takes some bravery to be so public about it and it is good to see that it helped make you think
about the things that lead you here. I am still working on smoking myself but if your intention was to help remind people like me why we need to work
a little harder, mission accomplished. Take care of yourself an thanks again for sharing this with us.

well, that was a fascinating, well written and absorbing account.
you may still get the urge to smoke again although i'm sure you wont succumb.

it took me about 7 years to really kick it at age 30 and one of the things that finally helped was i searched within using the highest mental faculty
of discrimination for who exactly wanted to smoke. and i could find no one or nothing that wanted that. wanting to smoke was just some kind of lie or
illusion.

i hope you start on some kind of herbal regime to dissolve the plaque and live to 100..---------god bless

Wow, thank you for that and I'm glad you are well. I was just about to go walk to McDonalds for an unhealthy breakfast and go about my day as usual,
smoking cigarettes... I will try harder to abstain from both.

I find it fascinating that you felt a sense calm in the midst of a panic situation where you, obviously, were preparing yourself to pass on into the
great unknown. I can't say that I would have such composure. You must feel grateful to be able to spend more time with you're wife.

For what it is worth, my whole family smokes, but 3 of them have quit with e-cigs. One member actually went from three packs a day to 2 'real cigs'
a day in the car (I kid you not). And they actually hate those 2 'real cigs' now, but they feel that when they are in the car, a passing officer of
the law may see the e-cig and think it is being used for ingesting something other than nicotine.

Anyway, from what my family members have said, blu is a good starting brand, but volcano is the best if you are a heavier smoker. Of course, there
could be other brands out there that work better, but these two I am personally familiar with. Also, for any others considering going the e-cig route,
it seems that dripping your own liquid nicotine is the way to go, in terms of getting the most out of the e-cig.

There are some good forums out there for e-cig users, so if anyone is thinking of trying them, I suggest a bit of research, and if anyone wants me to
ask my family members anything about the e-cig in particular, I will be glad to do it. It just impressed me so much to see some of my family actually
stop smoking, when I had long thought it impossible. Thus, I try and spread the e-cig word when I can, in case someone else out there will benefit
from them as well.

hell yeah, i can't wait for my first stroke from smoking. i've been smoking for 11 years, just waiting for my doctor to give me the good news. i'm
going to jump for joy when he tells me i have cancer. goodbye cruel world, goodbye, screw you guys i'm outta here.

Hey Doc, glad to hear your're ok, thank you very much for sharing this with us, im sure if it helps just one person quit smoking you have done a
great service for ATS.

I myself have been smoking for 4 years now with my longest attempt to quit lasting 3 months. I've been gearing myself up to try again. I hope myself
and others can learn from your experience and not leave it until a serious wake up call such as yours to change our lifestyle.

So it’s 4 am in Kalifornia and this post has been up for 4 hours the board says and has 3 pages. Seems too interesting to pass up with that much
response.
First off Doc sorry about your predicament and I wish you nothing but the best in your struggle with the cancer stick.(why do we call it a cancer
stick when people seem to get strokes from them, cancer comes from the air and water we intake. It’s how non smokers get it I’m sure.)
I too have thought of quitting myself but for all of my strengths this one has got me. I have used most of the excuses in OptimusPrimate’s post plus
a bunch more.
Maybe someday I will figure out how to pull this monkey off of my back and finally execute him. I even tell my kids to take care of themselves as I
was a strong young man at one point and now as of late I finally see what I’ve done to myself after years of being the tough guy, that crap creeps
up on you and quick.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the stroke with us, I think they were probably more powerful than anything a doctor could tell us. (We at ATS I
would imagine don’t much like to listen to “The Man,” otherwise we would be trolling the American Idol fan sights.) but I will pay more
attention to a member here because even with all of the diversity here we are all in some way akin to each other.
Thanks.
And good luck.

Hi I have never had a stroke but did smoked from twelve and stopped at 31. My girlfriend didn't wanted me to stop for her or our kids, but for
myself. I had tried it before and it never worked.

Then there was a advertisement in a paper about laser therapy and my healthcare fully paid for the treatment so I thought why not. The last day I
smoked a whole pack and went into the clinic.

After some talking and paperwork I was instructed to lay on a table and putt some kind of glasses on (guess) protection against the laser? Anyhow I
was calm and the woman was also talking to me very kind and almost like whispering. Now at that time I had some laser shots in my ear and was still
relax after 30 minutes it was over and I was outside.

First though. I want to smoke where can I buy?

But something weird happened. I just said into my head i'm the boss I don't buy them anymore and
went home. First days I eat lots of fruit and toke chewing gum every time I had a thought about smoking or just went outside biking.

After a week depression started and I went to my doctor he gave me valium for a week and that helped me to relax. Now i'm a year further and still
have not smoked and not want to even no problem if someone next to me smokes that doesn't give me a feeling that I need it too.

Originally posted by DOADOA
hell yeah, i can't wait for my first stroke from smoking. i've been smoking for 11 years, just waiting for my doctor to give me the good news. i'm
going to jump for joy when he tells me i have cancer. goodbye cruel world, goodbye, screw you guys i'm outta here.

welcome to the club, you'll get in train with me.

i'm going to smoke as much as i want, because that is only vice i have.
i may go to monks if i quit...

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